English
Kannon
Kannon comes from Japanese 観音, and goes back to Middle Chinese 觀音.
- Middle Chinesec. 500–1000觀音kwan ʔim
- Japanesemodern観音Kannon
- Englishearliest quotation 2021Kannon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Chinesec. 500–1000觀音kwan ʔim
- Japanesemodern観音Kannon
- Englishearliest quotation 2021Kannon
Earliest quotation: 2021, Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness: “A long time ago, Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion,…”
Every English word from Middle Chinese 觀音
Today it means
name Kannon, the Japanese version of Guanyin, the Chinese translation of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of mercy and compassion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle Chinese 觀音 / Kannon